Kigen Summon: Behind the Smile
Kigen Summon: Behind the Smile is the sixteenth episode of Final Fantasy: Unlimited. Story The First Test Now ensnared in the Ocean Puzzle, Jane is transported to the first challenge of the puzzle. The crew recovers and surveys their surroundings: they are resting on a pillar of stone, high above the water, in a cube of space. From the roof/sky of the cube, a gigantic mermaid-like fish descends and explains she is here to give the group a series of riddles as their test for this cube. She demands they elect three people to answer her riddles, and to stand for them. The crew agrees to comply, and Lisa, Knave and Miles are elected to answer the riddles. Fear the Fish Presenting themselves to the mermaid, the three prepare for the riddles. Knave goes first, and in given a seemingly simple riddle: "In the beginning it has four legs, then it has two legs, and finally three. What is it?" Knave answers human, but the mermaid says this is incorrect, claiming the correct answer was a bacteria creature called "Hemora". For answering incorrectly, the entire cube of space moves toward the bottom of the puzzle. Similar questions and results follow, with Knave answering all three incorrectly. When the answer of the third question is announced, Knave melts into a puddle of liquid. Miles volunteers to go second, but she meets the same fate. Truth The mermaid announces they do not have further to fall, and thus the next question will decide their fate: death or salvation. She presents a complex question to Lisa, one she couldn't possibly answer. The others falls into despair, waiting for her answer with baited breath. As she tries to think, her thoughts wander into her memories, as she recalls her mother dying defending her village, and what she told Lisa on her deathbed. The mermaid urges her to answer, breaking into her thoughts. As she tries to recollect herself, Kaze appears behind her, and tells her there is no answer. With sudden understanding she announces to the mermaid there never was an answer to begin with; she was simply saying something other than what they answered each time. Despite Lisa's victory, the mermaid refuses to allow them to live, and begins destroying the cube. A cascade of water falls from the sky, blasting the submarine and pinning it to the rock surface. Lisa sacrifices herself to allow the others to live by using her Kigen arts to summon a serpentine creature using her own life force. The creature lifts Jane through the torrents. Having carried them to safety, Lisa dispels the creature, allowing herself to fade, with the last thing she sees being Kaze reaching out for her. Epilogue Despite using her life force to summon the creature, Lisa awakens aboard Jane. Knave and Miles have also been revived. Cid theorizes the energy contained in the water rendered her life force unnecessary, allowing her to survive. Seeing Kaze is still with them, Lisa smiles and Jane moves on to the next cube. Characters *Ai Hayakawa *Chobi *Cid *Earl Tyrant *Fungo *Herba *Kuroki Kaze *Knave *Lisa Pacifist *Miles *Oscha *Pist Shaz XI *Yu Hayakawa Category:Episodes in Final Fantasy: Unlimited fr:Invocation du Kigen – Derrière le sourire